ADDENDUM  28.

COMMITTEE MEMORANDUM

HISTORY:

In September 2015, at the recommendation of the Mayor's Blue Ribbon Panel on North Beach and after an appropriate Request for Qualifications had been issued, the City Commission entered into an agreement with Dover, Kohl and Partners, Inc. (DKP) to prepare a master plan for the North Beach district of the City.  This area, defined as that portion of the City of Miami Beach lying North of 63rd Street (except for such portions of Allison and La Gorce Islands). 

DKP and staff kicked off these efforts with a public meeting in November 2015.  This was followed in January 2016 by the Mayoral appointment of a seven-member North Beach Master Plan Steering Committee.  The Steering Committee was given the task of advising on issues of importance to the residents, business and property owners of North Beach and act as a regular voice for the area.

During the entire length of the project, DPK continued to receive public input through a project website, www.PlanNoBe.org, a North Beach Revitalization Facebook Page and through a dedicated email address, NorthBeach@miamibeachfl.gov.  The Steering Committee met during the project to discuss issues in detail and to receive limited public input.  

The project's public component wrapped up with the unveiling of a Final Proposed North Beach Master Plan at a public meeting on August 31, 2016. 

Plan NoBe - North Beach Master Plan includes a number of recommendations including:

• Provide More Mobility Options - The Plan outlines a number of strategies to make North Beach more pedestrian-friendly and to better accommodate busses and trolleys instead of focusing on solely on automobiles.  Recommendations also include additional crosswalks, bike infrastructure, shade trees and lighting.  The majority of the recommendations and graphics contained in the Plan are consistent with the Citywide Transportation Master Plan.  One major exception:  the Plan continues to suggest two-way of both Harding and Collins Avenue.  It is made clear in the Plan that Citywide master plans such as the Transportation Master Plan supersede recommendations of the North Beach Master Plan.

It is important to note that the Plan NoBe - North Beach Master Plan was created with significant public input and as such, it is not a technical document but is more of a vision document.  The document was created as a compromise of methods to solve various issued raised during the public input process and is thus more of a consensus document than a technical manual outlining ways to improve the area.

Accordingly, the Mayor's North Beach Master Plan Steering Committee discussed the idea of engaging a planning firm to create a greater vision and plan for the 72nd Street parking lot, the Youth Center, the Bandshell, the Altos del Mar park area, and the library. The Committee later made the motion requesting the City of Miami Beach engage a multidisciplinary urban design firm to work with the City to prepare a detailed urban plan for the Ocean Terrace Neighborhood. The City Commission approved the item on March 26, 2017.

RFLI 2017-252-ND, for Neighborhood Urban Design Plan, was issued on September 22, 2017 and awarded to The Corradino Group including Cesar Garcia Pons on March 19, 2018. The scope of work The Corradino Group included:

• accept the adopted North Beach Master Plan as the basis of the proposed urban design study;
• analysis of the existing neighborhood conditions and potential impacts of currently approved and proposed future development projects;
• analyze and propose right-of-way and public space improvements within the study area with an emphasis on enhanced pedestrian experience and connectivity;
• provide a limited public outreach program, to receive public input and identify community needs; and
• deliver a final urban design plan document with graphics that support the study findings.

ANALYSIS:

Since award, The Corradino Group re-familiarized themselves with the approved Plan NoBe, held numerous listening and feedback meetings with City staff (Planning, Economic Development, Public Works, Parking, Transportation), City elected officials, and the North Beach Steering Committee, which was re-instated by the Mayor to hold three meetings to review and comment on the plan.
 
On June 12, 2018, the Corradino Group and the North Beach Steering Committee met to discuss the issues assessed in the neighborhood, and to explore potential solutions. On July 11, 2018, the same group met to review and provide feedback on a draft Urban Design Plan.
 
On August 29, 2018, The Corradino Group presented their final recommendations for the Ocean Terrace Neighborhood Urban Design Plan (see Exhibit A to this Memorandum) to the North Beach Steering Committee. After review and discussion, the North Beach Steering Committee motioned to recommend to the City Commission the implementation of the Corradino Group’s Ocean Terrace Urban Design Concept Plan (with ongoing City initiatives and proposed connector plans) and further recommend (1) that ongoing City connector plans, in the adjacent neighborhoods, be consistent with the proposed Ocean Terrace Urban Design Concept Plan and (2) the City further explore the feasibility of parking replacement for the spaces impacted by the Ocean Terrace Urban Design Concept Plan.

At the September 2018 City Commission meeting, the discussion of the Ocean Terrace plan was referred to the Land Use and Development Committee.

 
During  the October 31^st, 2018 Land Use and Development Committee meeting, the Committee recommended that the City Commission refer the discussion to the Finance City Wide Project Committee to discuss and prioritize project components and  potential funding options.

CONCLUSION:

The Ocean Terrace Neighborhood Urban Design Plan  does not include any prioritization of projects, programs or budget.  The Administration is working on developing estimated costs for the project components to bring back  to the FCWPC for a discussion on priorities and identification of potential funding options for the plan to move forward.